PORTLAND, OREGON - June 2, 2013 -The fourth annual public camp-out designed to raise awareness about the criminalization of homelessness in Portland and across the nation, begins at 10:00am Friday, June 6 and will continue through mid-day Saturday. Participants in 'Pitch A Tent for the Right 2 Survive' will set up tents in downtown Portland along the Rose Festival's parade route. Organizers expect hundreds of people to join them in the event that is both a protest and a celebration.

The City of Portland, Oregon permits the public to pitch tents along the Grand Floral Parade route and other parade venues. Every other day of the year camping in the city is outlawed, causing houseless people to seek shelter in doorways, under bridges and in bushes, while simply trying to get some sleep without shelter. Their sleep is often interrupted by police and security guards, who perform routine sweeps. Organizers chose "Sweepless Nights, Know Your Rights" as the theme for this year's Pitch A Tent event, highlighting everyone's need for a peaceful night's rest and the need for houseless people to stand up for their human rights. Organizers want to highlight the Oregon Homeless Bill of Rights, a legislative campaign for a comprehensive law addressing the human rights of houseless people.

"The city allows people to pitch up tents for pleasure, but they won't allow people to pitch a tent to survive. This is wrong." said Leo Rhodes. "Homeless people are just doing human things like sleeping, getting out of the rain and resting." Event organizers want to demonstrate that creative solutions that benefit the entire city can be implemented immediately to address this human rights crisis, including lifting the camping ban and promoting more solutions like Right 2 Dream Too. R2DToo has been so successful that other cities are replicating the model. The rest area has sheltered hundreds of people, allowing many to get a good night's rest and a place to make a fresh start. Over one hundred people who have stayed at R2DToo have been housed and at least 99 have gotten jobs. The non-profit operates with no government funding.

Pitch a Tent organizers expect people from as far away as Seattle and San Francisco to join the event this year. Jobs with Justice, Right 2 Dream Too, Sisters in Strength, Sisters of the Road, Seattle SHARE/WHEEL, Western Regional Action Project, the Radical Cheerleaders, and many other organizations and individuals will participate in the overnight event that includes live entertainment featuring local hip hop artist Mic Crenshaw and Shoehorn, the tap-dancing saxophonist. Organizers also plan to have a talent show, potluck, movie showing, t-shirt sales, and political advocacy, in addition to camping out and watching the Grand Floral Parade.

Right 2 Survive is a direct action group founded in 2009 that educates both houseless and housed people on their civil, human, and constitutional rights. We also work to bridge the gap between housed and un-housed people by clearing away misconceptions and stigmas associated with houselessness and empower houseless people to stand up for themselves when their rights are violated.

Right To Dream Too (R2DToo) was established on World Homeless Action Day, October 10, 2011. We are a nonprofit organization operating a space that provides refuge and a safe space to rest or sleep undisturbed for Portland's unhoused community who cannot access affordable housing or shelter.